by Joyee Flynn
“There are pills that Riley wants you to take,” he said quietly, probably thinking he was pushing his luck. “They’re low-dose antidepressants that he said he altered to work with our system.”
“You want me to be one of those doped-out Prozac humans?” I asked, my eyes going wide with shock. Fuck no!
“No, nothing like that. He said they’re gentle and you won’t even really notice a difference. They will help take an edge off the depression and get more happy hormones firing in your brain or something. I didn’t really understand what he was saying.” His eyebrows were wrinkled in confusion, and knowing Riley, he’d rattled off a bunch of medical lingo that would make anyone’s head spin.
I thought about that for a minute. “You really went to a lot of trouble to plan all of this out, didn’t you?”
“You’re worth the effort to me,” he answered quietly. “Please just let me help you.”
“Okay, I’ll give you two weeks without putting up a fight on one condition,” I conceded, feeling bad my best friend was so upset.
“Anything,” he agreed immediately with a happy nod.
“I want time outside, too. You know I’d go insane if I was trapped in here all the time.”
“Deal. Now get some rest while I get your food. Let me know when you’re ready to see your mates. They’re chomping at the bit to talk to you.”
I sighed, realizing it might just be easier to get it over with than delay the inevitable. “Just send in one as long as they promise not to jump me or try and bite me.”
“No, they’re too upset to be horny,” he said sadly. I watched with curiosity as he placed his thumb on a sensor by the door.
“You really went all out on this plan to keep me in here.”
“Yup. And don’t think you can bypass the system. If you even try to remove the cover without my prints first, the door will go on lockdown. And it rotates which print of mine is needed, so don’t try to lift my print or something.”
“I said I’d behave as long as this works. But if they come running in here demanding shit of me, then I’ll fight you to get out,” I said firmly. I wasn’t going to be trapped and force-fed by the men who abandoned me or some shit.
“No, you’ll see that they’re very sorry and willing to do whatever it takes to make you better.” Isaac paused as if debating something before he spoke again. “They want to help and said they’d let you go if you wouldn’t forgive them. They said it would kill something inside of them, but if you wanted to go back to Darcy that they’d let you go.”
“Oh, they sound kinda nice,” I admitted with a shrug. They were here to help and didn’t really expect me to just forgive and forget. It gave me hope.
“They are good guys or we wouldn’t have brought them back with us.”
“I so want to hear how this all went down later, but right now I just need to take a little of this information at a time,” I said wearily. But when I saw the frown on my friend’s face, I tried to crack a joke. “It’s my first time being kidnapped and all.”
“Well, technically I’d say it was kidnapping when we got our tattoos.” He snickered, giving me a wink.
“Oh god,” I groaned. “How am I going to explain that one to them?”
“I will if you want, but don’t get upset. Rory loves mine. He thinks it’s his own personal invitation to my ass.”
“TMI, dude. TMI.” I shook my head as he laughed, leaving through the door. It closed with a thud and a loud click, signaling that I was locked in. I almost started to panic at being held in the room. It took me a few deep breaths and remembering that it was my best friend doing it, not some crazed killer, to calm down.
I decided to check out my new home. I opened the closets, shocked to find my clothes there. And then I went into the attached bathroom. Again the walls were steel, but the shower and bathtub were actually really big. The bathroom in general was sizeable to where the sink, toilet, and shower were not all cramped together.
White tiles comprised the wall of the bathing area and the bathroom’s floor. This seemed odd with the steel walls, but whatever. I moved to the sink, which stood by itself against the wall. It had a cabinet built beneath it that I imagined that towels were being stored in. There was a mirror above it that I looked into briefly but turned sharply away from when I saw my reflection—so different now from what it had been.
At least it wasn’t just a barred cell where everyone could watch me do my business when I needed to. It wasn’t jail. It was like forced rehab, though I wasn’t addicted to anything. I decided to call it my sabbatical and leave it at that.
I smiled when I saw that Isaac had gotten me a new Kindle Fire. It was on the nightstand by the bed. I lay down and grabbed it, wanting to see what he’d put on it. I scrolled through for two minutes, my mouth hanging open. He had all my favorite authors on here and a bunch of gay erotic romance I was very excited to read. It wasn’t normally my thing, but I had a feeling I’d be doing a lot of reading I never got to when working so much.
I glanced up when the door opened, trying to keep calm when one of my mates stepped inside, letting the door close. I couldn’t help but notice how perfect he looked as he stood there shyly, his toned muscles visible beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. I sat up, not willing to be on my back during our first interaction in months. There was an awkward couple of minutes when we just stared at each other, not sure what to say.
“You look bigger than I remember,” I finally said, wanting to roll my eyes at how lame it sounded.
“Aye.” He chuckled, shaking his head as he moved to sit on the end of the bed, not coming too close to me. “We keep getting that. Ya stopped eating and Banning and I went the other way. With the improvements Dillon’s been making to both farms, there’s been more than enough work to keep us somewhat distracted.
“Not really, but the only way we seem to be able to sleep is if we work ourselves to exhaustion. So yeah, the side effect be we added thirty pounds of muscle. Didn’t make us any taller unfortunately or anything. I’d like a few more inches—” He paused, his eyes darting to his hands instead of looking at the wall. “Sorry, I ramble when I’m nervous.”
It made me feel that letting one of them in here was the right move if he cared enough to be nervous. “I didn’t sleep with Darcy,” I blurted out. God, I sucked at this. “I haven’t slept with anyone since we met.”
“Then why did ya say that ya were going to?” he asked hesitantly, glancing over to me.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged because I didn’t really have a good answer. “I was angry. I wasn’t ready for you guys to show up and bring my feelings and the rejection to the surface again. I wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me.”
Brian nodded a few times, taking it in. “I understand that. We deserved it, but ya need to know we were suffering, too. We thought—”
“I know what you thought,” I growled as I got up off the bed and started to pace. “But that’s not what I said. You two were too busy talking all over me and—this isn’t going work. I need to get out of here.”
“Wait, please don’t,” he said so quietly I barely heard him. I turned to face him and suddenly he was there, hugging me. I wanted to push him away. My head was screaming for me to do just that, but my heart…my heart wanted to hold my mate until all the pain went away. “I’ll leave, okay? Ya need to get better. I didn’t mean to make things worse for ya.”
“Okay,” I whispered, taking a moment to rub my face against his soft red hair.
“Okay, ya want me to leave?” He sounded confused and a bit hurt.
“No, okay, I’ll try and let go of what happened.” He shivered in my arms, letting out a happy sigh.
“We be willing to do whatever it takes. Just tell us what you need, me mate.”
“I don’t know what I need,” I admitted. I felt like a lost kid or right after I went through my transition—no. I wasn’t going to think about that right now either. That wouldn’t help me snap out of my funk.
“Want to shoot zombies?” he asked as he tilted his head to look up at me. It was such a random topic change I found myself just staring at him as if saying huh? “There be a game Banning and I like. Zombie Apocalypse on the Xbox. Isaac said you like to play, and that’s the only one I know.”
“Okay, let’s kill some zombies.” I chuckled, hugging him back slightly. He smiled up at me, and I felt some of the ice that had built around my heart melt. A little, just a little bit, but it was a start.
We sat down, pulling two of the chairs from the table, and played for about half an hour before Isaac brought us some food. I had to admit, I was having fun. For the first time in a long time, I actually laughed some.
“Ugh, my stomach is not liking this idea,” I groaned as I eyed over the best-looking steak ever. But just because it looked good didn’t mean my stomach wanted me to eat it.
“Riley ran over some other pills when I called and told him why you weren’t eating. He said they would help with the nausea and calm your stomach,” Isaac said gently, glancing between us. “You okay? I don’t want to push you—”
“Yeah, we were having fun,” I replied quickly, interrupting him so he didn’t have to finish that thought. “I’m willing to try and start over, I guess.” I hadn’t said that much to Brian, but as we hung out, I realized it was what I wanted.
“Really?” Brian gasped, his eyes wide with hope. I nodded and instantly had my arms filled with my mate. “Thank ya, thank ya, thank ya.” He pulled me down and peppered my face with kisses. One landed on my mouth, and we both froze for a split second. Then I growled and attacked his lips. He gasped and opened up for me, and all the months of need and longing swarmed me, almost enough to bring me to my knees.
“No,” I whimpered as I ripped my mouth off his and pulled away. “I–I–I can’t th–that yet.” Was that even a complete thought or making any sense?
“Aye,” Brian said gently as he moved to sit in one of the chairs by the small table. “I didn’t mean to do that either. I won’t deny it felt good, but ya be right that we not jump into anything.”
I sighed in relief. They really were trying to do things differently this time. I was afraid he’d jump all over me for denying him or leading him on. Isaac let out the breath he’d been holding as well.
“Well, if you’ll excuse me. I am going to do activities like that with my mate,” he said with a wink. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning before breakfast. We’ll take a walk around the property and ramp up our workouts from there. It will help you feel better and clear your mind.”
I nodded and blurted out what I’d been thinking of saying. “I’m not sure if I should kick your ass or thank you for this, but it means the world to me that you cared enough to pull a stunt like this.”
“Try the thank-you. If you kick my ass, you’ll have to deal with Rory, and it’s getting close to the full moon. You don’t want to tangle with my cat.” He threw back his head and laughed before walking out the door.
Yeah, he was right. Rory was wicked fast and scary protective of my friend. I was in no condition to take on a shifter.
“This be nice,” Brian said as he took the lids off the plates on the tray.
“Yeah, our first date is in my cell,” I grumbled as I sat down. I winced. “Sorry. Seems I’m not as okay with all of this as I thought.”
“That be understandable.” He gave me a smile and a nod, letting me know his feelings weren’t hurt. “It not be me first choice either, but it’s better than no choice and still being separated.”
“Good point,” I conceded and reached for one of the pops. I read the instructions Riley wrote out with the bottle of pills. Shaking one out, I swallowed it with some liquid and set them aside.
“Mint tea always helps with an upset tummy as well. Ma always gives it to us anytime we are sick. I’ll see if Isaac has some later or make sure he gets some.” I watched Brian with an open mouth as he cut into his steak and took a bite. “What?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled, snapping out of my shock. He was still staring at me, and I realized I wasn’t going to get out of it quite that easily. “I’m just not used to someone caring enough to worry for me.”
“Isaac does.” He swallowed loudly and glanced at his food. “That Darcy character seemed to care a great deal for you.”
“Isaac’s like a brother,” I said slowly, trying to pick the right words so I didn’t stick my foot in my mouth. I cut up my meat, taking a bite before deciding how to phrase what I wanted to say. “You have nine brothers, right? Is there one of the bunch that’s easiest to talk to? Someone who never judges, always listens, and lets it be all about you sometimes?”
“Aye, that be Fergus.” His eyes went wide and he cursed under his breath. “I’m not talking bad against Banning. He be me twin, but when you share emotions and feel what the other one is, it’s hard just to talk sometimes.”
“That makes sense. I didn’t take it as you slighting your twin. It’s just there’s something in certain people that makes them so easy to talk to, to be around.”
“I agree. Fergus is almost like talking to a father. Ya know it won’t go anywhere, and he just lets ya get it off your chest without trying to be involved or suggesting how ya should handle things.”
“Yeah, that’s Darcy. I’m not the only one who talks to him, and being a warrior, it’s hard to talk to anyone. Plus, we have somewhat similar backgrounds, so we were kinda friendly and drinking buddies. But then when Isaac was going through all kinds of shit with his family, he shut me out. For so long we’d been best friends and then suddenly it was like I didn’t matter anymore. Darcy and I became closer and we started sleeping together.
“But that’s all it was. Just sex. We both knew it and there’s no hard feelings or wanting more from each other. We were friends who scratched each other’s itch sometimes or when we needed to not feel so alone.” It was the best explanation I had, and I was trying to make Brian realize that if things were going to work out between us, my heart didn’t belong to another.
“I’m glad ya had someone to turn to when ya needed them.”
We ate in comfortable silence for a while. I’d read the instructions for the other pills, and they were to be taken after meals, three times a day. I got about halfway through my steak and baby potatoes before I was full. I went over to the nightstand and popped one of those, the bed calling to me.
“Wait, before ya go to bed ya have to have some blood,” Brian said gently. He stood and went to a small fridge next to the TV stand that I hadn’t even noticed was there. It was about three feet tall and stainless steel, making it blend into the surroundings. I watched him pull out a bag of blood with apprehension. “Banning and I said we’d offer to give ya a blow job each time ya drank blood if that’s what it would take to get you to do it. It seems funny to suggest now. But I am willing to do anything to get ya better.”
I just about swallowed my tongue. What sane man passed up that offer? Oh right, me. “Thanks, but I couldn’t use you like that. And it would kind of go against the whole taking this slow policy.”
“Aye, that be true,” he agreed and handed it to me. I sat down and let my fangs come out before sinking them into the bag. I drank it down, doing my best to ignore my rolling stomach. It would probably get worse before it got better, but I had to start putting what I needed into my body. I tossed it in the trash when I was done, groaning as I suddenly felt dizzy. “Do I need to get the doc?”
“No, but I’d like it if you lie with me for a while. No funny stuff. I just think it would be nice if we just lay here and got used to each other.” It sounded stupid and sappy. I waited for him to laugh at me.
Instead I got a bright smile. “I’d like that.” He toed off his shoes as I did the same and crawled into bed with me. We didn’t spoon, but Brian did lie on his side next to me, our bodies not quite touching. I took his hand and intertwined our fingers, laying them over my chest. He sighed contently and I closed my eyes. It felt right, a
nd I drifted right off to sleep.
Chapter 4
Brian
I heard a growl and started to wake up. Then I gasped in pain. I shot out of bed, crying out and stumbling to the ground. Me body felt as if millions of bugs were crawling under me skin. I tried to scratch, but me hands and arms weren’t cooperating with me.
“Help,” I cried out, writhing on the floor in pain.
“Oh fuck,” Zane shouted and picked up the phone next to the bed. “Help us. I used my gift on Brian.” His voice sounded panicked.
I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, and I didn’t really care, though I would ask what me mate’s gift was later. All I cared about was if they could make it stop.
“Just breathe, baby,” Zane cooed. Suddenly I was in his lap, his hands rubbing all over me body. Wherever he touched, instantly the pain stopped there. I took a few deep breaths, me heart slowing down. The door burst open and I smelled Isaac, Rory, and me twin, hearing their frantic footsteps as they all ran to help me.
“What did you do?” Banning growled as he knelt in front of us, pulling me out of Zane’s lap.
“No,” I whimpered, trying to fight him. “His touch helps.” Me twin instantly let me go but still looked pissed enough to chew nails.
“It was an accident,” Zane whispered, his tone pleading that we understand. I saw him glance at Isaac. “I woke up with someone draped over me and smelled my mate. I got scared and lashed out before I even realized it. I’d forgotten that they’d come here or where I was. I thought I was having a nightmare and wanted to wake up.”
“It’s okay, I know you’d never hurt them on purpose,” Isaac said gently as he knelt next to us. I wasn’t in pain any longer and started to sit up before collapsing right back in his lap. “Rory, get Brian some blood.”
“On it,” Rory said, his eyes as big as saucers, looking completely confused and shocked. Yeah, I felt the same way.
“What does him being scared have to do with Brian being in pain?” Banning barked out, his gaze darting between Isaac and Zane. Our mate nodded, swallowing loudly.